In Georgia, the rejection of a controversial bill will decrease the intensity of recent protests, but unresolved questions about the country's strategic trajectory could undermine its path toward greater Western integration. On March 10, Georgian lawmakers formally rejected a contentious ''foreign agents'' bill a day after the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party announced it would withdraw the proposal. The bill would have required media outlets, nongovernmental organizations and other entities that receive 20% or more of their funding from abroad to register as ''foreign agents'' or be subject to heavy fines. The GD stressed that the bill had been unfairly disparaged by a ''machine of lies,'' which it said had falsely portrayed the bill as intending to mimic similar Russian laws, and left open the possibility of submitting a similar proposal in the future ''after emotions subside.'' The bill had drawn significant Western criticism and came after two nights of...
